Consultant Engineer

A consultant is an organisation or individual contracted to perform specific tasks and to provide expert advice, including recommendations as a basis for making a decision or taking a certain course of action.

Consultants are required to be independent and ethical in their consulting relationships with clients/client organisations.

Chemical Engineering

Consulting chemical engineers are hired by companies who lack specific chemical engineering expertise within their existing staff. Consulting chemical engineering teams can assist in process design and implementation, mass and heat balances of the chemical process, plant expansion, process simulation and project management. A consultant chemical engineer can also work with Local and Federal Government on tasks such as policy development and advice industrial site approvals. Other industries that employ chemical engineering consultants include the food process and design industry, which manufactures foods such as beer, cheese and wine. A consultant engineer would analyse the manufacturing process involved in making these food products to ensure safety, quality, and profit maximisation.

Civil Engineer

Civil engineering consultants design, manage, and supervise the construction of projects for clients in the public and private sectors. They lend their skills and knowledge to a wide range of projects, including roads, offices, and residential developments. Consultants are employed on smaller projects during the early stages of their career, but the size and complexity of projects typically increases as experience is gained. They divide their time between office-based work and visits to construction sites, and may be required to travel long distances. Common work duties include designing detailed project plans; monitoring budgets and resources; conducting quality and safety assessments; and liaising with other engineers, construction technicians, client representatives, and subcontractors.

Computer Engineer

Computer engineering consultants undertake design, construction, maintenance, operation and support services, for the hardware and software embedded in digital products. Their skills are both hardware and software based, however unlike software engineers they complete a small number of electrical engineering based subjects throughout their degree so can work with digital/computerised hardware products. These consultants require a strong background in the field of computer engineering, and extensive work experience in the field may be necessary for higher level positions on large embedded systems.

Electrical Engineer

Electrical engineering consultants devise solutions for clients in the public and private sectors that meet their electrical needs, including power and communications. They are typically involved in designing electrical systems for construction projects, planning and overseeing the development of telecommunications networks, security systems, and fire protection systems. Common duties of the electrical engineering consultant include assessing project safety and feasibility; liaising with technicians, other engineers, and clients; and monitoring budgets and resource schedules.

Environmental Engineer

Environmental consultants address environmental issues for a wide range of clients in the industrial and commercial sectors, including energy corporations, environmental law firms, and chemical manufacturers. They ensure clients' policies are up to date with current environmental legislation. A key task of environmental consultants is the identification of potential contamination risks to land, air, and water caused by proposed and existing projects. They often work on-site prior to construction, establishing baseline levels of contamination through on-site sampling and dialogue with other experts. Additionally, they may be involved in report writing, data interpretation, and computer modelling to conduct environmental impact assessments.

Mechanical Engineer

Mechanical engineering consultants are employed by clients for their expertise in the design, installation, and management of mechanics such as air-conditioners, elevators, ventilation systems, pipelines, and safety systems: the core of construction projects. They typically work with other engineers in the development of infrastructural projects like houses, offices, and other buildings; however, they may also be involved in the maintenance and repair of machines and equipment for client manufacturers and industrial processing plants. These consultants require a strong background in mechanical engineering, and extensive work experience in the field may be necessary for higher level positions on large construction or manufacturing projects.

Software Engineer

Consulting software engineers work in areas including system network installation, custom software design and set-up and determining cause and corrective actions for outdated, lagging systems. They must have a practiced ability to translate technical details and jargon into consumable communication, and have the ability to work with geographically dispersed teams. Consultants need to be highly motivated use initiative and have the ability to recognise and solve problems. These consultants require a strong background in the field of software engineering, and extensive work experience in the field may be necessary for higher level positions on large software design projects or network set-ups.

Telecommunications Engineer

A consulting telecommunications engineer provides specialist knowledge and skills in computer and telephone systems and the technologies that drive them, eg satellite communications and wireless networking. These consultants work for small and large businesses who want to install or update their computer and/or telephone networks. This means that a telecommunications engineer would liaise with a business, evaluate their current systems, design a plan and budget for their network connections to be installed and then install the service. These consultants require a strong background in telecommunications engineering, and extensive work experience in the field may be necessary for higher level positions on major network installations or upgrades.